LETTER TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM F. RABORN FROM HAROLD SEIDMAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01139A000300040016-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2001
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: October 14, 1965
• Content Type: LETTER

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET
uaT?n' D.C. ?20503
0M 0' .Declassification/Release Instructions on
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Honorable William F. Raborn
Central Intelligence Agency'
.Washington, D.C. 20505
Dear Mr. Raborn:
October 1I., 1965
Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A 71 provides that the Bureau of the
Budget will "support the development and promulgation of standard data
elements and codes in Government systems, when such data elements are
in co= on use in some or all executive agencies."
A program for standardizing data elements and codes was initiated,
beginning in April 1965, when three task forces were organized to develop
and recommend standard data elements and codes for countries of the World
and States of the United States including groupings and subdivisions of
countries and States, and for nonpoliticial places within those geopolitical
entities. More recently, a task force has been organized to develop and
recommend standards for reflecting the names of Government agencies in
Government systems and standard, codes to represent those names. The Civil
Service Commission is currently engaged in standardizing data elements and
codes for personnel management systems.
Consideration is being given to other data elements and codes in common use
which appear eligible for standardization on a Government-wide basis.
Certain of the groups being considered deserve high priority attention. We
are at this time initiating action to establish interagency task forces to
develop and recommend standard data elements and codes for three of these
groups: (1) the coding of names of people and the use of numerical identi-
fiers for people, (2) calendar dates, and (3) identification and coding of
businesses. The remainder of this letter concerns one of the foregoing three
groups.
The methods used for reflecting the names of people in our systems, including
name-coding processes, and the numerical identifiers used to further identify
people, e.g., social security number, case number, claim number, etc., should
be considered for standardization. With the advent of electroz4c methods of
data?automation.a trend toward coding,names..has developed.' Also, the use of
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numbers for identification of 2
people, and the further use of these numbers
for intra-system controls and inter-system data interchanges, are on the
.increase. It seems likely that a standard system for designating and coding
names of people and for a standard numerical identifier of people would
increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of Government systems and inter-
changes of data between systems.
The word "people," as used here, includes as a minimum (1) civil and military
employees of the Government, (2).persons who receive, directly from the
Federal Government, benefits from the social, welfare, retirement and veterans
programs, and (3) persons other than the foregoing whose names are required
to be entered in Government systems.
We wish to establish an'interagency task force whose function would be to
consider the procedures now in use for entering and coding the names of people
in Government systems and for applying numerical identifiers to people, and
then to develop and recommend (1) a name coding and numerical identifier
system for standard use throughout the Federal Government and (2) a proposed.
plan and schedule for the adoption of the system recommended.
Virtually all Government agencies would be affected by the standard system
which the task force will be asked to develop. It would not be practicable,
however, for all agencies to provide a task force representative. Instead,
we believe it a better plan to proceed with a relatively small task force
that would consult with agencies which have a substantial interest but are
not represented on.that group. The standards and procedures developed and
recommended by the task force will be circulated to all agencies for comment.
Following the plan described above,-.we are establishing a "Name Coding and
Numerical..Identifier Task Force" comprised of representatives of the following
agencies:
National Archives and Records Service, GSA (Chairman)
Treasury Department
Department of Defense
Department of Justice
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Veterans Administration
entrai Intelligence Agency
Civil Service Commission
Housing and Home Finance Agency
Railroad Retirement Board
Selective Service System
District of Columbia Government'
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If your agency will accept the membership and chairmanship arrangements we
suggest, please designate a person to represent you on the task force. When
all representatives have been designated, arrangements will be made to hold
the first task force meeting at the Bureau of the Budget. This will enable
our staff to brief the task force concerning the mission assigned and to
relate the work to be accomplished to the total program for standardizing
data elements and codes.
For further information concerning this matter, contacts can be made with.
Mr. William A. .Gill, Bureau of the Budget, Executive Office Building,..
Room 552, code 128,. extension 21311.
Sincerely,
Harold -Seidman
Assistant Director for
Management. and Organization
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